Pitching 101

Posted on 22. Feb, 2012 by

I had the privilege of lecturing at Champlain College today in Nancy Kerr’s Writing for Public Relations class. Below are my slides from the discussion. We talked about how to write pitches – and over all how to pitch your story to the media. Thanks to all the students who attended. I had a great time!

Elements of a Pitch

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Press Releases of the NOW

Posted on 09. Oct, 2008 by

So I promised that my next blog would get away from social marketing and focus more on PR.  Well, I was half telling the truth!

Social media releases are kind of becoming a buzz topic in the industry.  As PR starts working more hand in hand with social marketing, and the media is crossing over its traditional lines, the way PR professionals pitch and communicate with the media is ever changing.

Wire services are offering online components for distribution of press releases.  They distribute the release both by traditional means of blasting the information out to newsrooms and now also offer a service of making your news more “social” or “viral.” PRWeb is a good example of this.  When they distribute your release they also include distribution to online news sites, like Google and Yahoo. Your news becomes searchable by being listed both on their own newsfeed site and on these online sites.  There is a cost to this, and depending on the service and distribution you choose, it can cost anywhere between $250 and $800 or more.

Pitch Engine allows you to build a social media release for free, online. PR pros are using this new to and various ways. Some are posting the information and letting it become discovered by the journalists who search the site.  Others are using it as a means of distribution.  At PMG we are using it to help distribute our information.  We build the social media release, upload the images, links, and all other information and then get the assigned URL for the release.  When pitching reporters we offer the link to them to obtain the additional information.  In our view this is valuable for the media and PR people alike, as attachments to emails can get caught in spam filters and it is just a one-stop shop for all of the information needed.  The other great feature: the quick pitch! Basically, this area has you create a 115 character pitch about the release.  Talk about useful! We can use this on Twitter, as a start to some of our email pitches… the list is endless!  Our thanks to Jason Kintzler for developing this tool.  It has changed the way we pitch and distribute our information, not to mention… we think it is really effective.

Micro-blogging your pitch can be effective – if you have the right people in your networks. This is along the line of a TwitPitch or a Quick Pitch. You boil your pitch down to 140 characters or less and post it on Twitter or in your “what are you doing” section of any social network you belong to.  Your network then and see what your news is.  Be sure to provide a link to the full release.

Sure, keeping up with it all is a bit cumbersome, but, with our ever-changing world it is necessary.  You really want to continue to reach our traditional outlets, but at the same time embrace the new media.  Keep in mind that some some “old school” outlets like the New York Times have online editions as well.  These online editions sometimes can yield better placements… they certainly are trackable by looking at your click throughs!

Happy pitching,

Nicole

Social Networking Spam?

Posted on 08. Aug, 2008 by

As the global community figures out how to best use all of the social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., etc., etc), marketers are trying out different methods to reach customers and other prospects through these mediums.

From time to time discussion begins on if tactic executed by a salesperson or marketer is considered spam or misuse of these mediums.  Here you will find one discussion regarding a Twitter communication.

What is your take?

We often “pitch” and Twitter about client news and happenings as well as post regarding blog updates, etc on Facebook.  Does this make PMG a spammer?  What are your thoughts?

Nicole

Save My Manolos!

Posted on 02. Jun, 2008 by

I went to pick up some shoes that I had repaired this weekend at the cobbler.  While I was chatting with the business owner, we started to discuss how the art of shoemaking and shoe repair is dying. 

Crap!  Who is going to put new plastic tips on the heels of my favorite pair of C. Labels or put one of those sole strengtheners on the bottom of my Manolo Blahnik’s? (For the record – I have no idea what the technical terms for these things are that save my shoes – just that they do!)

Driving away from the shop, I got to thinking.   Who is in charge of PR for the cobblers of the United States?  Clearly there is one big missed opportunity here!  With the box-office smash hit “Sex in the City” just out this past weekend where the characters are known for their expensive and fabulous footwear as well as the continued concern about rising gas prices and recession, timing could not be more perfect!

There is in fact, an association for cobblers and shoemakers called the Shoe Service Institute of America.  Not an easy group to find; they do not appear easily in a Google search of cobbler associations in the United States.  This is a public call to all shoemakers and cobblers associations… please invest in some PR!!  Strike now – the iron is hot!!

My goal is perhaps self-serving.  One, I get to write about what I know – PR.  And two, maybe a little pr push will help more people enter into this noble and worthwhile trade as a demand will be created for the service.  On a socially responsible front, we change out our shoes too often, hopefully donating them to charity… but chances are too many shoes that still have sole get tossed. 

At PMG, this is what we call being opportunistic.  If you are indeed a member of the Shoe Service Institute of America, give me a call, I will strike you a hell of a deal!

Think you have a story that could help boost your bottom line?  Flush it out and call your media friends… you might just find your company on the front page of the paper!

Well heeled,

Nicole Ravlin